Broomfield's Kohl Elementary lobbying for full-day kindergarten

For two years, they've petitioned the Boulder Valley School District to offer a full-day program at their Broomfield School. They say parents want their kindergarten children in school longer and are willing to pay for the program. They also pointed to kindergarten parents who have open enrolled in other schools for a full day.

“Our standards are being increased,” Holley said. “We need to have more time with our kindergartners. They need more time to practice their reading and writing. People want more for their kids. We do, too.”

Recently, they took their case to the school board. Though school board members agreed that full-day kindergarten is a goal, Superintendent Bruce Messinger said the district needs to wait to see if the state will fund full-day kindergarten.

“I am absolutely an advocate of full-day kindergarten,” he said. “I understand the impatience and frustration. But we really would like a longer range strategy that would be free full-day kindergarten for all children in all schools.”

The district, however, can't afford it with its current budget.

Colorado now provides funding for a little more than half a day for kindergarten students.

A bill that would revamp Colorado's school finance formula for the first time in 18 years is expected to be introduced in the state Legislature in the next couple of weeks.

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The latest draft of the bill includes the state funding full-day kindergarten, at an estimated cost of about $200 million.

The bill would go into effect only if voters support an initiative for a tax increase in November.

Boulder Valley now offer full-day kindergarten, at no cost to families, only in its “Title 1” schools — schools with a high percentage of low-income students that receive extra funding.

The two Kohl teachers said the school put forward a plan for tuition based full-day kindergarten that works financially and includes scholarships for low-income students. Their school also has enough classroom space, plus willing teachers.

“We have a parent community that is willing to put dollars they use toward daycare to their child's education instead,” Westbrook said. “We need to do this.”

Messinger countered that adding full-day kindergarten at only one or two schools at a time isn't ideal. Schools likely would need to charge different tuition rates, as parents who pay tuition subsidize those who are low-income and qualify for free tuition.

Instead, he said, the best option would be if the state fully funded full-day programs for all schools.

If that doesn't happen, he said, the district then could consider asking voters for a tax increase.

In the neighboring St. Vrain Valley School District, all 26 elementary schools offer preschool and full-day kindergarten thanks to a $5 million federal grant and a voter-approved tax increase.

Boulder Valley district officials are still calculating the cost of free, full-day kindergarten. Along with ongoing operations costs, the district also would have one-time costs to add classroom space at some of its elementary schools. Early estimates put the total for both at $12 million to $14 million.

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